[accessibleimage] Insights 2005

Hi,
Articles mostly about Insights 2005: LightHouse for the Blind Annual Show in San Fransico. There will be a panel discussion the 31st of August. Inclulded links to the gallery and the Lighthouse organisatio, Also an article a 81 year old artist.

Regards,
Lisa



Insights 2005: LightHouse for the Blind Annual Show
http://www.lighthouse-sf.org/activities/insights/index.php
http://www.sfacgallery.org/exhibits_cityhall_exhibition.fsp?id=72045
http://www.lighthouse-sf.org/activities/insights/TheLightHouseInsights2005CallForArt.php

2004 gallery
http://www.lighthouse-sf.org/activities/insights/TheLightHouseInsights2004Gallery.php#Seeing

http://www.sfbg.com/39/46/x_8days.html

http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200508/kt2005081920331411690.htm

August 17, Wednesday
Mind's eye Beethoven showed the world that you don't necessarily need to be able to hear to compose some of the most beautiful music ever created. And 'Insights,' an annual juried exhibition, proves that sight is not a prerequisite for creating visual art. This groundbreaking show features work by 33 artists from around the country – all of whom are blind or visually impaired. The artists conquer a variety of media, including photography, painting, mixed media, and sculpture. Each piece reveals a unique perspective through the lens of a person who truly experiences the world differently from most. Among the talented group is Pete Eckert, a blind photographer who uses sound, touch, and light to compose his portraits, which reveal the way he perceives the world around him. The show challenges the audience to transcend their own notions of impairment to gain a refreshing glimpse into the limitless possibilities of art. Through Oct. 28. Reception Aug. 31, 5:30-7:30 p.m.; gallery hours Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat., noon-4p.m., San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl., SF. Free. (415) 554-6080. (Morae Kim)

San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery at City Hall City Hall, lower level, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl; 554-6080, www.sfacgallery.org. Mon-Fri, 8am-8pm; Sat, noon-4pm. "Insights 2005," works by artists who are blind or visually impaired (reception Aug 31, 5:30-7:30pm).

THE LIGHTHOUSE PRESENTS:

INSIGHTS 2005

the 16th exhibition of works by artists who are blind or visually impaired August 17 - October 28, 2005 Public Reception at San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall August 31, 2005 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Press release

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: -- June 20, 2005 -- They are artists who may have never seen their own work. And yet, their artwork - sculptures, oil paintings, mixed media, etchings and photographs - rivals the work of artists whose sight is their strongest resource. In Insights 2005, 33 artists from 27 communities spanning San Francisco to Kolkatta, India have been selected to present over 60 pieces of artwork that bridges the visual divide.

Insights 2005 is an annual, national, juried art exhibition of works by artists who are blind or visually impaired. Presented by the LightHouse, the show emphasizes the diverse range of how people express themselves and how they see. This year’s jury members are Courtney Fink, Executive Director at Southern Exposure Gallery, Tucker Nichols, artist, and Katherine Sherwood, artist and Professor of Art Practice at UC Berkeley.

“My work is inspired and perhaps even enhanced by my visual disability," said Michael Richard, a legally blind photographer from Studio City, California and three time Insights artist. Richard’s work is currently on exhibit at the Berkeley Art Museum’s show, “Blind at the Museum.”

Insights 2005 invites sighted, blind and visually impaired viewers alike to experience the artwork. Touchable sculpture, braille and alternative format materials, as well as a full audio description including interviews with the artists will offer multiple ways to engage the viewer in the art. The audio tour will be recorded on the state of the art equipment of Antenna Audio, leading describers at museums worldwide, including the Louvre.

On view at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery in City Hall from August 17th, Insights 2005 is a testament to humans’ capacity to move beyond a disability. On August 31st, the day of the opening reception, the LightHouse will host a panel discussion on visual impairment and the arts, a chance for artists to network and share experiences and resources.


Insights 2005 is underwritten by Antenna Audio, SBC Foundation and the Community Arts and Education program of the San Francisco Arts Commission. This year we are delighted to announce our inaugural participation with SBC Foundation, which consistently ranks among the nations top fifteen corporate foundations. Please visit the Insights website www.lighthouse-sf.org for further information and to view artwork.

The LightHouse, a nonprofit organization, helps individuals live independently with vision loss and is the largest provider of direct services and advocacy for the blind and visually impaired of Northern California. For more information, call (415) 431-1481 or go on-line to www.lighthouse-sf.org .

August 14, 2005
OCEANSIDE – He says he grew a goatee to look the part.

At age 80, and almost totally blind, Ed Lochmoeller has launched a career as an artist. He says the transition has made him very happy.

LAURA EMBRY / Union-Tribune
Oceanside resident Ed Lochmoeller will display his at art the Creek Walk art show in Vista today.
After retiring as a manager for Radio Shack in 1990, Lochmoeller threw himself into the North County Model Railroad Society, where he helped build the small, N-scale railroads.

"I was enamored by model railroading all my life," he said.

He continued to be active in the society until spring 2003 when macular degeneration made it impossible for him to continue.

"Ed became a different person," his wife, Nancy Lochmoeller, said. "He couldn't drive or read, either. He was so sad."

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that is the leading cause of blindness among adults ages 55 and older. It is brought about by the deterioration of the central portion of the retina, known as the macula, which controls the ability to see objects in fine detail. Lochmoeller's daughter, Jane Herrick, is activities director at the retirement community of Redwood Town Court in Escondido. She urged him to take a "Solutions in Sight" course offered by the Braille Institute, San Diego Center, which teaches visually impaired adults how to live independently. Lochmoeller said he didn't think he needed the class. But after taking it, he said, he learned that almost anything is possible.

While vacationing at Big Bear he looked at the mountains across the lake, and they appeared blurry to him.

"I said to Nancy, 'You know that's how expressionists paint. I wonder if I could draw,'" he said.

Lochmoeller began using a writing tablet. Then his stepdaughter, Nancy Hodgkiss, gave him a backpack that was outfitted with art supplies for black-and-white pencil drawings.

"I was happy drawing in black and white, and hesitant to try something new," he said.

This frustrated another stepdaughter, Mary Trease, who is an artist. She bought Lochmoeller a set of colored pencils and insisted that he use them.


"One of our neighbors, Donna Linck, is quite a watercolorist. She graciously allowed me to join her painting class. She also encouraged me to use color and told me how much fun it was to paint," Lochmoeller said.

Last winter he was accepted to a fine arts class offered by The Braille Institute.

When the class ended, instructor John Liang asked Lochmoeller to donate a painting for an auction at the institute in October.

"Ed was one of four students I chose," Liang said. "My mantra is, 'Come here and do it, and make art.' Ed gets lost doing art.

"The hardest part is to take chances and not be judgmental of yourself or others."

With Nancy's help, Lochmoeller is producing greeting cards from his paintings.

His work will be displayed at Art at the Creek Walk in Vista today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"I've never had so much fun in my life," he said. "I feel I have a new profession. I no longer think of myself as visually impaired. I think of myself as visually inconvenienced."

To reach out to other vision-impaired adults, Lochmoeller has organized a free, six-week "Solutions in Sight" class in conjunction with the Braille Institute. It begins Sept. 6 at Oceana South in Oceanside.

For information, call (760) 439-1925.


http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/LIFE/508170321/1006
Blind citizens group seeks donations and help for programs
The association also hopes to add exercise programs, chair yoga and possibly hire an art teacher for the day camp. To get those programs started, he said "we need donations, donations and more donations."


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